Nouakchott  - The al-Qaeda terrorist network on Wednesday claimed responsibility for an attack on a Mauritanian military unit three days ago.

In a letter published on Islamist websites, al-Qaeda claimed the "jihadist brigades of Yahya Dshawadi, Prince of the Desert" had assaulted the soldiers near Zouerat in northern Mauritania and taken two of them hostage, among them a captain.

Initially, 12 soldiers had been reported missing after the attack.

Tehran  - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday declared his readiness to have a televised debate with the two US presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain.

"I have no intention to officially meet American officials in New York, but I am ready for a televised debate with the two US presidential candidates at the UN," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Tehran.

"I had the same intention with [President George W] Bush," he said, referring to his two requests for such an encounter. They were rejected by the White House as propaganda.

San

Washington, Sep 18 : Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Vayalar Ravi has assured Christian leaders here that the government is keeping a close vigil on the recent spate of violence against the community in some parts of the country.

“The Government of India is in touch with the state government and has advised it to take strong measures to protect minority groups... and to suppress these brutal attacks,” said Ravi said while assuring the leaders.

“The Government of India is monitoring every day with the State Government so that there is no repeat of the incident,” he said.

Warsaw  - Poland will toughen criteria for getting loans from banks amid the recent US financial crisis, reported the daily Dziennik on Thursday.

The changes will likely take effect at the end of this year, the head of Poland's Financial Supervision Authority told the daily. They will affect consumer and mortgage credit in all currencies. The move could lower property prices as less people would be able to afford homes.

"We see in the example of the US where excessive optimism leads in judging client's financial conditions," Krzysztof Broda of the Financial Supervision Authority was quoted as saying.